29 August

Paul McCartney recently mocked this song’s meaning as childish and naive. But it’s also a vital piece of evidence for the time that the kidult culture I talk about was taking over the world. Decades of compulsory schooling had led to a dominant teenage/school culture shifting into adult life. These ‘kidults’ (adults with the worldview of adolescents) were confronted with the complexities of adult life, and what was their response? ‘War is over’. ‘All you need is love’. Fantasy wish-fulfilment. At the same time this shift was pulling down adult institutions that actually ran the world and maintained peace and health. The countercultural revolution. An ‘anti-establishment’ revolution. That’s our culture still today. Trump is the endgame of it, it’s his greatest passion, trashing institutions. Who knew Trump was the love-child of The Beatles? Well, some did.